Wood as Fuel

“There has recently appeared the results of investigations into the wood-fuel supply by the Dominion Fuel Board, and while it contains little that is new to us who are extensive wood users, still, the repetition of some of the outstanding facts may remind us of matters that we have left undone in conserving this source of heat. 

A woodlot in Queens County, PEI.

“Consumption of wood as a household is about one cord per head of population in Canada and therefore constitutes an important item in the fuel bill. The use of wood is primarily confined to the rural districts and to towns near the source of supply for it is inferior to coal in fuel value and, on account of its bulk, costs more to transport.

“From information gathered, it may be shown that there has been for the past twenty years; a continuous shrinkage in the farmers’ woodlots which constitute the chief source of supply. To such an extent has depletion proceeded that split rail fences and even roadside and hedgerow trees are now a considerable item in the fuel wood supply. 

“This depletion is not attributable to any lessening of acreage as a general thing, but to the lack of foresight and care, principally due to the grazing of livestock which has served to prevent germination of seeds, killed off seedlings and injured standing timber. This is a point in which we display much apathy.

“The tendency today, largely due to these conditions, is to the use of coal and oil and this when accentuated will add considerably to Canada’s fuel problems.

A woodlot in Queens County, PE.

“Experience in other places has shown that the rehabilitation of run down wood-lots will require fifteen to twenty years of the most expert care and only a meagre yield of one quarter (or at most one half) of the normal producing capacity can be realized in the interval. The wood-lot owner has, in the main, still to be educated in the proper method of wood-lot management, and as this can only be made effective after many years training there seems to be no prospect of marked improvement in fuel production from wood-lots in the near future: rather, I imagine, the reverse.”

Newsy Notes by Agricola. February 28, 1929.

Source

Glen Property Visit, July 2019

An area of Bill Glen’s woodlot. The nut orchard is slightly visible in the background.

On Wednesday 18 July, some of the GeoREACH Lab team members took a trip into the field (literally) to visit Bill and Elizabeth Glen’s land in the Bonshaw area of Lot 30, Prince Edward Island. Bill and Elizabeth are well known in PEI genealogical and historical circles, and Bill was formerly a forester with the PEI Provincial Government. He now serves as a forest and woodland consultant, and he co-authored a chapter with Josh MacFadyen in the University of Calgary Press collection on Historical GIS Research in Canada. The Glens have been on their property since the early 1980s, and they were able to provide some real insight into how the land has changed over the last forty years, including how they managed the forest, fields, and hedgerows!

Bill Glen, GeoREACH Lab Director Dr. Josh MacFadyen, and research assistants Nolan Kressin and Abby Craswell.

The team has studied Lot 30 extensively using aerial photos and historical maps on GIS. We were excited to explore the real area that we have been examining from above for the last several months. It reminded us that our research is much bigger than just a computer screen! We could see the changes that have occurred in the land since the aerial photos that we are currently studying were taken in 1968, before the implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan (for more on that see this post). Some of these changes include hedgerow planting, the appearance of new homes, and a new nut orchard on the property.

Research assistants Nolan Kressin, Nick Scott, and Abby Craswell (L-R) in the field.

While on this excursion, we learned about hedgerow and woodlot composition, as well as the importance of biodiversity and climate change adaptability in wooded areas. White spruce (what we use to plant most of our hedgerows) is incredibly vulnerable to slight shifts in climate! Bill also showed us a hydraulic pump that dates back to 1890, which he still uses to pump water to the tank for his nut orchard. The GeoREACH team would like to thank Bill and Elizabeth Glen for having us to their home and sharing their knowledge of land-use change on Prince Edward Island.